Today we’d like to introduce you to Kailey Donewald and Anna Malinsky.
Co-founder Kailey grew up suffering from both asthma and allergies her whole life. It wasn’t until 25 years old, while living in Bali, Indonesia, that she realized it was actually the food she was eating that was making her sick. While living abroad, she began eating a raw vegan diet. Within 2 weeks, her body had completely healed itself of both asthma and allergies. Turns out she had a food sensitivity to dairy that was causing her body harm. Seeing as how no doctor had ever inquired about her diet, she felt called to spread the awareness that our bodies have an incredible and innate ability to heal themselves, we just have to nourish them with the right fuel.
Upon returning back to Chicago, Kailey left her job and went back to school for nutrition to become a Certified Holistic Health Coach. This was about the time she met co-founders Alex and Anna. Turns out they also lived in Bali for quite some time, and while they were there they started a vegan gelato company. Unfortunately, upon moving back to Chicago, they could no longer manage the gelato business abroad.
Seeing as how it was one of Kailey’s favorite treats in Bali, and it was fully in alignment with her new mission – it all felt very synchronistic. So, they decided to all partner up and bring this plant-based gelato to the states.
After 2+ years of recipe refinement, new product development, and all the accompanying start-up highs and lows, Sacred Serve can now be found on the shelves in 40+ locations throughout Chicagoland.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
We’ve had our challenges. A lot of them have been related to finances – we’ve been bootstrapping the operation since day 1 and it can be tough working with such limited resources. Getting a food & beverage business going is very capital intensive. We’ve also been challenged logistically. Being vertically integrated, we manufacture everything ourselves, as well as coordinate all the deliveries. Keeping a product frozen and safe while in transport can be tricky!
Since we’re dealing with a frozen food product, it’s also very costly for us to ship it (i.e. dry ice and max 2 day shipments) which limits us in terms of reaching potential customers nationwide. It has made implementing a direct to consumer business model more challenging.
Early on we struggled with a kitchen space to manufacture our gelato. We were working out of a commissary kitchen that we quickly grew out of. We then transitioned over to The Plant where we shared kitchen space with a kombucha maker. Again we quickly outgrew that and decided to build out our own dedicated facility, also within The Plant.
Please tell us about Sacred Serve.
We innovate and manufacture the Midwest’s first and only fully organic, raw vegan gelato made from whole coconuts. By combining the meat of certified organic coconuts with potent superfoods and sweetening it with a hint of low glycemic coconut sugar, we’ve achieved a rich, creamy gelato packed with plant-based nutrition.
What sets us apart is not only our dedication to using whole, nutrient dense, organic ingredients, but our focus on how those ingredients work together in the body to support its natural functioning. This is why we are constantly experimenting with the latest superfoods, herbs, supplements, etc. to come up with new flavors that offer both the sweet tooth satisfaction while also providing a functional/ nutritional boost.
Anna spends hours in the kitchen doing R&D for new flavors. It’s like some magical chemistry happens every time she gets it right. But failures are an inherent part of the R&D process and we like it, too, because it teaches us to be patient and humble.
We’re really proud of the texture of our gelato. We’ve been refining it for over 2 years now, trying different things to get it to where it is today without having to rely on gums and various stabilizers. We’ve come a long way since day 1, and we’re grateful to all the customers that have been with us since then.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
Kailey: My favorite memory from childhood was spending every spring break down at my grandparents’ home in Florida with all our cousins. There are 6 of us cousins that grew up together, all within 5 years of age of each other, and we had an absolute blast. Our grandpa would take us on boat rides to see dolphins, watch manatees in the back channel, feed the huge birds that came to visit the backyard, and hang out at the beach. We also played tons of games as a large family and took many trips to the nearby ice cream shop.
Anna: My favorite memory from childhood is how I spent summers at my grandma’s in the small village in Siberia. She had a big garden where she grew all sorts of food, so I remember eating gooseberries, blackcurrants from the bush, and carrots out of the ground, and how my mom and her sisters-in-law would make meals and preserves with all that abundance of freshly grown fruit and veggies.
My grandma had six kids so my cousins and aunties were there a lot, too. I was blessed to have such a big family and to spend almost all of the time outside.
Contact Info:
- Address: 1400 W 46th Street
Chicago, IL 60609 - Website: www.sacredserve.com
- Phone: 8476090161
- Email: kailey@sacredserve.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/sacredserve
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/sacredserve
- Twitter: n/a
- Yelp: n/a
- Other: https://vimeo.com/250052747
Getting in touch: VoyageChicago is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
